Brake beam



Patented Aug. 22, 1939 PATENT OFFICE BRAKE BEAM Charles R. Busch, Orange, N. J., assignor to Buffalo Brake Beam Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 31, 1937, Serial No. 182,723

9Claims.

This invention relates to brake beams preferably of a truss type and preferably specially so constructed as to be particularly adapted to receive brake shoe heads, more or less of the type disclosed in my prior application Serial No. 134,- 792, filed April 3, 1937.

An object of the invention is to provide a brake beam with a compression-member which is preferably formed from a section of channel metal with a view to insuring great vertical and horizontal strength, the section preferably having its greatest depth along'its mid-length and gradually tapering smaller towards its ends.

A preferable object is to provide a tension member having shoulders at its outer ends preferably formed by upsetting the ends, such shoulders being adapted to interlock with shoulders on the ends of the compression member, the two members being either riveted, welded or otherwise go rigidly attached at a point in line with the brake shoe heads.

A preferred object is to provide a brake beam with forwardly facing sockets or grooves in its end portions, for receiving members which extend from the backs of the brake shoe heads, the brake shoe heads and beam being preferably so constructed that either brake head may be removed from the beam by sliding it inwardly along the tension member, which can be done without disturbing the brake beam from its normal position in a railway car truck.

These being among theobjects of the present invention, the same consists of certain features of construction and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and then claimed with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention and wherein- Fig. 1 is a plan of one end portion of a compression member;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a plan of one end portion of a tension member;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section on line 5-5, Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse section on line 66, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a plan of a complete trussed brake beam made in accordance with the present invention, showing a brake head in full lines and a brake head in broken lines, together with a strut in broken lines;

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section on the line Ill-I 0 of Fig. '1 looking in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 11 is a rear elevation of the brake shoe head shown in Fig. 10.

In Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, a little over a half of the length of each member is illustrated as the other half is obviously constructed in the same manner.

. Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the channel section I5 is preferably of rolled steel, or it may be cast or forged, in order to provide an ultimate compression member. When such member is of the channel form it will have a back [6 or web intervening between the upper and lower flanges II, the back extending vertically and the flanges extending horizontally. See also Fig. 6. Preferably the section I5 is cambered in the first instance before it constitutes a compression member and an important feature thereof is the fact that it is preferred to so shape and form the member l5 that its greatest depth is located at its approximate mid-length as shown in Fig. 2. From its greatest depth the section or member l5 preferably tapers towards each end so that it becomes gradually smaller towards either end, with a view to greatly, strengthening the compression member particularly at its mid-length.

An ultimate tension member I8 is shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 which preferably consists of a fiat bar of rolled steel which is of oblong crosssection. Preferably this member is twisted along its length so as to provide a vertical broad middle portion H, such twisting being performed in any suitable manner which aims to set the middle portion l9 from its horizontal position by moving it through an angle of degrees so that the middle portion will extend vertically. Such middle portion is approximately of the same depth as the middle portion of the compression member, whereby to enable a very strong brake the compression member and the shoulder 22 projects rearwardly to an extent corresponding with the thickness of the web l6 of the compression member. Hence there are preferably three such shoulders at each end of the tension member to correspond with the web i6 and the two flanges ll of the compression member.

A complete brake beam is shown in Fig. 7 composed of sections or members such as shown and described. Before assembling the tension member with the compression member the former is preferably bent into the bow shape desired and the two members liand i8 respectively provided at corresponding ends with substantially straight end portions 23 and 24. The end portion 23 of the compression member is formed at the smallest cross-section vertically of such member and the flanges thereat will be substantially parallel as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Each end portion 24 of the tension member will be in alignment with a corresponding end portion at the opposite end of the tension member so that the end portions 23, 24 will be substantially parallel with each other. To assemble the two members i and I8 the end portions 24 of the tension member are inserted between the flanges at each end of the compression member and the tension member moved back to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. '7 so that its end portions 25 will abut the inner surface of the back wall is of the compression member. Not only this, but the shoulders at the ends of the tension member are brought into engagement with the shoulders at the ends of the compression member, and by so fitting the members together the upper and lower surfaces of the ends of the two members and the back surfaces will be flush with each other so that a substantially smooth fiat extension is provided at each end of the brake beam.

It will be observed that preferably the horizontal width of each end portion 24 of the tension member is about half the width of the flanges of the compression member, with the result that grooves are formed in the brake beam at points v compression member, the heads of the rivets being preferably countersunk in the compression member as shown in Fig. 10.

The brake beam thus far completed can now have a strut 26 shown in broken lines in Fig. '7 inserted by force between the two members is and I8 so as to finally set the twomembers to their desired position, and to hold the same rigidly together when the strut is secured in any desired manner to the two members.

Preferably a wear price 27 of hard steel is applied over each end of the brakebeam, so as to take up wear in case the ends of the beam are to be guided upon the side frames of a car truck.

A In such case it is preferred that the terminal surfaces 28 of each wear piece be of arcuate shape as shown in Fig. 7.

Whether or not wear pieces 21 are employed, a suitable brake head 29 may now be applied to the beam, one at each end thereof. One of the heads is shown in full lines and the other in broken lines. Each brake head is preferably of the type disclosed in my said previous application, so as to be reversible and to be adapted to be applied to either end of a brake beam, that is,

each head is botha right and a left so as to be capable of application to either end of the beam. To this end the brake head 29 is preferably provided with a pair of jaws or brackets 30 which extend transversely of the back of the head, and between the same there is preferably located a novel tongue or engaging member 3| which is at the approximate mid-length of the head and extends transversely thereof as clearly shown in Fig. 11. To apply the brake head to the beam the laws are engaged over the end of the beam and the tongue 3| inserted into the socket 3la provided by the groove in front of the end of the tension member I 8, and the head is pushed home.

Then the brake head is secured rigidly to the end of the beam as by means of rivets 32 which pass through rivet holes extending through the thus closely arranged thicknesses of metal at that end of the beam as shown in Fig. 10. Such construction provides for absolute rigidity and solidity at the ends of the beam which means great strength at each end of the beam. The head may be readily removed inwardly from the end of the beam by merely cutting away and removing the rivets 32 and moving the head along the adjacent end of the tension member. This can be done without affecting the rigid connection between the tension and the compression members, and it is a very simple matter to thereafter apply another brake shoe head and secure it in the desired position at the end of the beam. Preferably the position of the brake head is such as to leave an extended portion of the beam beyond the brake head, although the present invention is applicable whether or not the beam actually terminates directly at the outer edge of each brake head. The removal of such head takes place while the beam remains in si'tu in the truck.

Obviously the invention may be more or less modified without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new is:

1. A brake beam, including a channel section forming a compression member having its greatest depth at its middle portion, and which, toward its ends, gradually tapers down, and a tension member having its ends firmly attached to the ends of the compression member, the attached ends of the members all extending beyond the points of location for brake heads to guide the beam on car truck frames.

2. A brake beam, including a channel section forming a compression member which is cambered rearwardly, the member having its greatest depth at its middle portion, and which, toward its ends, gradually tapers down, and a tension member having its ends firmlyattached to the ends of the compression member, the attached ends of the members all extending beyond the points of location for brake heads to guide the beam on car truck frames.

3. A brake beam, including a compression member and a tension member, one of the members having upset ends forming transverse shoulders terminating the ends and projecting in opposite directions, and the ends of the other member being of channel shape and having terminal recesses providing shoulders in its back and opposite'flanges, and the ends of aforesaid tension member fitted in the channel ends and having its shoulders engaged with the shoulders of the other member, and means for firmly attaching together the corresponding ends of the members.

4. A brake beam, including a compression member and a tension member, the ends of the compression member being formed as channels and the ends of the tension member fitted in the channels, shoulders formed on three sides of the compression member by recesses in the chan-, neled ends, shoulders formed on three sides of the said ends of the tension member and engaged in said recesses and with aforesaid shoulders, and means for firmly attaching together the corresponding ends of the members.

5. A compression member for a brake beam formed from a metallic channel section and having recesses at its ends extending through the intervening web thereof and its side flanges to form shoulders on three sides.

6. A brake beam, including a channel section forming a compression member having its greatest depth at its middle portion, and which, toward its ends, gradually tapers down, and a tension member having its. ends in the channel and firmly attached to the ends of the compression member, and wear pieces of hard metal upon and protecting such connected ends, the attached protected ends extending beyond the points where brake heads are to be located, to provide the beam with extended end portions adapted to guide the beam on car truck frames.

7. A brake beam, including a compression member and a tension member, one of the members having upset ends forming transverse shoulders and the ends of the other member being the corresponding ends of the members, and wear pieces of hard metal upon and protecting such ends by extending over the shouldered portions of both members, such ends extending beyond the points where brake heads are to be located, to provide the beam with extended end portions adapted to guide the beam on car truck frames.

8. The combination with a brake beam including compression and tension members, the ends of the compression member being formed as channels and the ends of the tension member being fitted in the channels, and said tension member ends being narrower than the inward depth of the channels, and means uniting the corresponding ends of the members, of brake heads having jaws engaging over the united ends, and fastenings passing through the jaws and the compression member at points in advance of the uniting means for such corresponding ends.

9. The combination with a brake beam including compression and tension members, the ends of the compression member being formed as channels and the ends of the tension member being fitted in the channels, and said tension member ends being narrower than the inward depth of the channels, to provide sockets in front thereof, and means uniting the corresponding ends of the members, of brake heads having jaws engaging over the united ends and also tongues between the jaws, the tongues received in said sockets. and fastenings passing through the jaws, the tongues and the compression member at points in advance of the uniting means for such corresponding ends.

CHARLES R. BUSCH. 

